


Lucky Strike

by newt_scamander



Category: American Gods (TV), American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-10 16:26:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11130435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newt_scamander/pseuds/newt_scamander
Summary: PLEASE READ: Sensitive material ok. Past abuse, suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts. If there's anything else I need to tag, just inbox me.I hope you enjoy : D





	Lucky Strike

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE READ: Sensitive material ok. Past abuse, suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts. If there's anything else I need to tag, just inbox me. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy : D

Mad Sweeney was lucky. He was not lucky in that he could always pick the right numbers for the power ball- he had only done that twice. He was not lucky when it came to always having an umbrella during a storm. Most of the time he at least had a hoodie on, though. He was not so lucky that he never had bad dreams or scraped knees. He was the type of lucky that black cats ran away from him and sidewalk cracks sealed before him. Cars swerved to miss him. Mattress delivery men always seemed to be dropping off their wares when he jumped off the fifth floor of his building. How could one building possibly need that many mattresses? 

He supposed it might have been coincident. But then, the universe wasn't as lazy as most people made it out to be. 

The world was lazy though. The world did what was best for itself, individually. It let sad kids slip through a broken system and be hungry when their foster moms took the checks meant for buying bread and orange juice and spent them on white powder or bitter brown stuff. It let teachers ignore purple bruises until they were green or yellow. 

Mad Sweeney fingered the coin, the gold coin that had come to him from fuck knows who and hung around his neck on a bit of string. It was warm, and he was cold. He kicked his feet. They were cold. He was sitting on the ledge of the building, staring at the fence. The tops of the fences were like pikes. Maybe he could impale himself on them. 

He sighed and stood up, jumping down. He didn't bother trying to impale himself. With his luck, there'd be a goddamn mattress sitting on top of the fence. He left the little yard and walked out into the road. Despite the hour, 5 p.m. on a Monday, there were no cars. Of course not. 

He crossed and went into the little coffee shop, put on an apron and started taking orders. Black coffee, pink drinks and blended beverages were leaving the counters as quickly as the orders came in. He was quick. 

"Can I have a water?" A voice asked. A water. Who the fuck came to a coffee shop and asked for water? 

Mad turned around and placed a clear cup on the counter. "Have at it." 

The man at the counter smiled, placing a ten in the tip jar. "Thank you." 

Mad was taken aback. The boy- he could see now that the boy was the same age as himself- was beautiful. He had dark skin, and dark eyes. He had pretty lips and a pretty smile. He was kind, Mad could tell. 

"Sit in that chair over there. I get off in four hours." Mad whispered. 

The boy was surprised and luck was with Mad again. The boy walked over to the indicated chair and sat down, sipping his water. 

Four hours passed quickly and Mad spilled three tea lattes in his distracted state. He couldn't help looking over the boy every now and again, just to make sure he was still there. And he was, offering a kind smile every time their eyes met. 

When, finally, the coffee shop closed Mad walked over to the table, grabbed a chair and swung it around. He sat down. "Who are you?" 

"Shadow. Moon. Shadow Moon." The boy- Shadow said. 

"Shadow Moon. Well, what in the fuck gave you the right to be so pretty, hm?" He asked, nudging Shadow's knee with his own. 

Shadow dropped his head and bit his lip and Mad could've burst into song. Finally, this fucking shit was paying off. 

"I imagine you're thirsty, being that you finished that water an hour and a half ago. Come on, I'll buy you a drink." He stood up, took Shadow's hand and left the coffee shop unlocked with all the lights on. 

As they walked onto the street, a car veered into their lane, inches away from them. Well, it would've been inches if not for Shadow. He shoved Mad and he fell, sprawling onto the road. He tasted asphalt and copper and then there was Shadow, picking him up. "I'm so fucking sorry, that guy almost hit you!" He exclaimed. 

Mad was so busy laughing, he didn't even notice the string had broken and the coin lay on the road, blood congealing on its golden surface. It didn't matter. He didn't need it any more. He had a new golden coin.

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Shadow Moon and Salim, even though salim isn't in this I want him to know I love him. Also, of course, my girlfriend. (Bby please watch American gods with me) 
> 
> Come say hi on tumblr! 
> 
> huffle-thepuff.tumblr


End file.
